Israel does not want cease-fire in Gaza, Turkish President Erdoğan tells Biden

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden on Thursday that Israel does not want a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.

Erdoğan said in a telephone call that the assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh "dealt a heavy blow" to cease-fire efforts in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has shown "at every step" that it does not want a cease-fire and peace, and his recent address to the U.S. Congress prompted "deep disappointment" in Türkiye and the world, Erdoğan told Biden.

Israel is working to spread the fire in Gaza to the entire region, Erdoğan stressed.

The phone call came soon after Türkiye announced that the country's National Intelligence Organization (MIT) led a successful prisoner exchange involving seven countries in "one of the most extensive" swap operations in recent years.

A total of 26 individuals from prisons in the U.S., Germany, Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Russia and Belarus were exchanged and transported to the Türkiye's capital of Ankara.

Biden thanked Erdoğan for his efforts regarding the hostage swap, which includes three American nationals and an American green-card holder — Paul Whelan, Evan Gershkovich, Alsu Kurmasheva and Vladimir Kara-Murza.

The two leaders also discussed bilateral relations during the phone call.

Türkiye is doing its best to develop bilateral relations with the U.S. in every field, Erdoğan underlined.